Numsa salutes training of labour safety and health reps

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has greeted with elation the offer to train health and safety shop stewards by the Department of Labour.

It (the training) will go a long way in addressing the worst neglect exposed in the occupational health and safety within the iron and steel manufacturing industries.

The department this week announced that it was to embark on training of 50 Numsa representatives on health and safety implementation measures in the Kwazulu Natal.

This follows Labour Department inspectors' week-long intensive blitz in all provinces and that Kwazulu-Natal was the worst affected by neglect after it found that 59 out 77 iron and steel factories visited did not comply with occupational health and safety Act requirements.

Numsa appreciates the initiative taken by the department in Kwazulu-Natal to conduct training in the iron and steel industries.

We are humbled by the departmentâ€™s willingness to roll out training and consequently ensuring that cooperation with the unions in monitoring health and safety measures at the workplace are strictly adhered to, Numsa health and safety coordinator Puleng Mminele said.

The union also appeals to the department to begin to roll out the training to safety and health representatives to steel and engineering industries in other provinces as well as the incidents and accidents are not confined to Kwazulu-Natal alone.

We are of the view that the healthy working relationship between government, labour and employers in this training project will have a major impact in creating safe, well environment and competitive performance in major industries.